An orthodontics residency must run at least 24 months and include at least 3,700 scheduled hours, per the Commission on Dental Accreditation's (CODA) Standard 4-1 for orthodontics and dentofacial orthopedics — the only one of the four specialties covered here with a set-hours floor, not just a length floor.
Both numbers are accreditation minimums, not typical program lengths; CODA doesn't publish how long the average program actually runs.
What CODA's orthodontics standard actually requires
Every accredited orthodontics residency in the U.S. answers to the same rule.
CODA's Accreditation Standards for orthodontics and dentofacial orthopedics, Standard 4-1, states that a program "must be a minimum of twenty-four (24) months and 3700 scheduled hours in duration."
Read that as a floor, not a description of a typical program.
CODA sets the minimum a program must clear to keep its accreditation; it doesn't publish an average or typical length, and this article isn't going to invent one.
If you see a specific number of years quoted for a specific program, that's the individual program's own length — check it directly with that program, not against this figure.
The only one of the four specialties with an hours requirement
Among the four specialties covered here — orthodontics, endodontics, pediatric dentistry, and oral and maxillofacial surgery — orthodontics is the only one with an hours floor.
CODA's own standards for the other three set a length floor but not an hours floor:
| Specialty | CODA minimum |
|---|---|
| Orthodontics & dentofacial orthopedics | 24 months and 3,700 scheduled hours |
| Endodontics | 24 months of full-time study |
| Pediatric dentistry | 24 months of full-time formal training |
| Oral & maxillofacial surgery | 4 years, plus a minimum 120 weeks devoted to clinical OMS |
Endodontics and pediatric dentistry stop at a months figure.
Oral and maxillofacial surgery adds a separate clinical-weeks minimum on top of its four-year floor, but not a total-hours count.
Orthodontics is the only one of the four that quantifies scheduled hours alongside months — a level of specificity none of the sibling standards match.
See the survey of all 12 recognized dental specialties for how the rest of the field is structured.
Three different bodies: who accredits, who recognizes, who certifies
The 24-month-and-3,700-hour rule comes from CODA, which accredits the training program — it sets the floor a residency must clear to keep its accreditation, nothing more.
Recognition of orthodontics as a distinct specialty is a separate function, held by the National Commission on Recognition of Dental Specialties and Certifying Boards (NCRDSCB), an agency of the ADA established by its House of Delegates in 2017.
The NCRDSCB recognized Orthodontics and Dentofacial Orthopedics as one of its specialties in 2018.
Certifying the individual practitioner is a third function again, held by the American Board of Orthodontics (ABO) — one of the 11 certifying boards the NCRDSCB recognizes.
Completing an accredited residency doesn't automatically make someone board certified; ABO certification is a separate, voluntary process a graduate pursues afterward.
And board certification still isn't licensure — the license to practice dentistry, including orthodontics, comes from the state dental board where a dentist practices, not from the ABO.
What isn't published — and what this article won't guess
What it leads to: pay
Orthodontists have their own federal occupational code, distinct from general dentistry.
The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reports a national median of $289,140 a year for orthodontists (OEWS, SOC 29-1023, May 2025) — among the highest in dentistry, and the payoff most residents are training toward.
Most orthodontists own or partner in practices, so real earnings blend clinical pay with practice profit, and the figure above is a national median, not a floor or a promise.
See the orthodontist salary guide for the percentile breakdown, or the overview of what an orthodontist does for the full role.
For the step-by-step path from pre-dental student through this residency, see how to become an orthodontist; for how a general dentist's scope compares once training is complete, see orthodontist vs. general dentist.
This article is general career information, not legal or clinical advice. Accreditation standards and board requirements can change — verify current requirements directly with CODA, the NCRDSCB, and the American Board of Orthodontics.